CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Life, and the business of football for that matter, can be funny.
Two years ago it appeared that David Njoku was a good as gone and his days in Cleveland all but over. Wednesday morning Njoku signed a four-year contract extension keeping him a Brown through the 2025 season.
“It means the world,” Njoku said. “I guess everything comes full circle. Obviously, in the past we have had our differences, and to be able to sign a four-year deal here where it all started, it means everything to me.
I am very blessed to be here the next four years.”
So what changed?
“I would say the time that I just decided to ignore all of the noise and just put my head down and work is when I realized that I do want to be here long term,” Njoku said. “I just focused on more of the positive things than the negative things, and in time, here we are. Like I said, I am very blessed.”
The deal could pay Njoku up to $56.75 million and includes $28 million in guaranteed money.
“David certainly is deserving of that contract,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He earned it. He did everything we asked him to do.”
The $14.187 million annual average makes him a top-five paid player at his position in the league and keeps him in Cleveland through the 2025 season.
“We are pleased to secure David Njoku’s presence in Cleveland with this extension,” Browns vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said. “David’s multi-faceted skill set in both the run and pass game is a key component of our offensive system. His ability to generate explosive plays with his athleticism, speed and run-after-catch ability along with his productivity as a blocker on the line of scrimmage is a difficult combination to find in a single player. We’ve seen David grow throughout his time here and are excited to see his best football over the next several seasons.”
The Browns franchise tagged Njoku this offseason with both sides hoping to work out a long-term deal.
Selected 29th overall in the 2017 Draft, Njoku has totaled 148 catches for 1,754 yards with 15 touchdowns in five seasons with the Browns. His most productive season came in 2018 that saw him catch 56 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns.
The Browns believe Njoku’s best football is yet to come. The contract clearly indicates that and he’s about to be featured much more offensively than we’ve seen in year’s past.
“He is a big part of what we plan to do. There is no doubt about that,” Stefanski said.
Njoku has caught four touchdowns in a season three times – as a rookie, 2018 and this past season. He has averaged over 11 yards per reception for his career.
This offseason, Berry has spent over $360 million in guaranteed cash to players through trades, contract extensions and signings led by the $230 million fully guaranteed contract given to quarterback Deshaun Watson, acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Texans in March.
Njoku joins cornerback Denzel Ward as the second draft pick of the franchise to receive a lucrative extension this offseason. Ward, picked fourth overall in 2018, signed a five-year, $100.5 million contract with $71.25 million guaranteed in April.
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